


Solstice Online

by CelestialBomber



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, My First Fanfic, Original Character(s), VRMMO
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-17
Updated: 2016-03-20
Packaged: 2018-05-21 07:50:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6043870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelestialBomber/pseuds/CelestialBomber
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Paris isn't in need of saving. There are no akumas in the real world, attempting to serve Hawkmoth. However, a new VRMMO called Solstice is in the making, and Adrien and Mari just happen to have landed as beta testers. Their interest in the game can only go up... until of course, problems arise. They may not be stuck in a game, but they're stuck in a conflict that could potentially harm the world. Will the two manage to brave through the corruption of Xen Gaming?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. An Early Beta

**Author's Note:**

> Just a disclaimer, this is in no way supposed to copy Sword Art Online. Yes I obviously took some inspiration from it, but the game, the concepts, and the plot will be different. I also took inspiration from another old MMO, for different reasons, which I'll leave to any potential old players to figure out. Enjoy! Feedback and critique is appreciated!

“I’ll see you guys on Monday! Bye Mari!” Adrien grinned, happily making his way to the limo that would bring him home, failing to notice Nino and Alya whisper to Marinette as her face flushed from his farewell, obviously directed at her. He did care immensely for the sweet, yet extremely shy girl, but he also had another reason to be happy. Today would be a special day, and almost nothing could kill his mood.

It was the day before the weekend, and for once, Adrien finished what remained of his homework swiftly and early after finding the package that arrived to his door. A few hours later, Adrien beamed with glee as the virtual software installed to his computer, the one that he modified in pure anticipation for this technological breakthrough.

 _For once, my father’s actually shown some concern for me!_ he thought, as he held the NerveGear in his shaking hands. Gabriel Agreste had hired some people to carefully inspect it and its capabilities, able to confirm that the aptly named NerveGear, built and developed by private company Gaia Tech, could not harm, much less kill its user. All of the senses should theoretically be felt in small doses, mentally, and mentally alone.

Not that he could actually think of how it would be capable of physically harming him anyways.

“I’ll see you later!” Adrien shouted to no one in particular. He was so entranced in the thought of a real, working, virtual reality, with an MMO working in conjunction that tailored to it, that the thought of being nearly completely alone in his colossal, cold mansion completely passed his mind, even if he technically didn’t know anything about the game.

He didn’t know what the combat would be like, what you would do, what classes there would be, how skills operated… he knew nothing. On one hand, he was excited to see how it would end up. On the other, there were also the inevitable nerves that plagued a technological breakthrough. Especially one that appeared considerably similar to a certain anime he held an interest in, just a little while back.

 _Hey, maybe if this DOES end up like Sword Art Online, I’d be like Kirito! ...Ah, who am I kidding?_ He nervously chuckled, putting on the NerveGear after syncing it to his PC. As it clicked and snapped to his head, he accessed the game and blacked out, his mind ready to head to another world, in order to play the first, real, VRMMORPG - Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game, that would be available to the world, _Solstice._ Sure it was still in Beta, but… that shouldn’t change much, right?...

The blank landscape formed around him, as the screen that directly emerged in front of him urged him to log in within a minute, or else he would automatically be kicked out with his NerveGear disconnected. He did so quickly, jamming his username and password onto said screen. The landscape flickered and started undergoing an animation that mimicked freefall as the screen enlarged, quickly creating distance between it and the player. The information had been double checked and verified, while the NerveGear was also analyzed in order to keep it clean of hacks and errors.

Once the greenlight had been given, the invisible force that held him in place was removed. Adrien truly started to enter freefall himself as more screens with even more information about the game popped out around him. His heart felt like it beat faster and faster during the descent.

“Hahaha! This is so cool!” Adrien laughed, as he read the information that was suddenly relayed to the nearby popups. His nerves started to float away, as his pure awe of the virtual reality took over.

_Now, what’s the catch?_

“NOTE: In _Solstice,_ the NerveGear holds the capability to send all sensory inputs to your brain, also capable of creating pain. This game will still simulate pain, but on a much more reduced level than what would be felt in reality. Additionally, if caught hacking or violating strict terms of the game, disciplinary artificial pain will be used to discourage such illegal action, and you will be blocked from the servers for a given amount of time.”

“Wow, they’re really thorough with this,” Adrien remarked as he continued reading.

Not that he was one to hack of course.

The fun of the journey simply disappears at that point, videogames suddenly losing almost all of their satisfaction. Aside from the built-in cheats and debugs in specific games after he completed them, Adrien never hacked. It was the same reason why he didn’t want to be an ultra powerful superhero or anything.

He feared that the world would lose its touch, and he’d lose whatever feeling he had left to cling onto in his cold life.

_Not that I’m honestly capable of being a superhero or anything._

“If you still wish to continue your journey into _Solstice,_ please aim your dive toward the green portion of the atmosphere. If not, remain in place.”

All of a sudden, a red mist appeared below him, surrounded by green mist, both glowing brighter and brighter in color as his freefall passed the time. Adrien quickly angled his body in a panic, diving toward the green portion. As he passed through, a flash occurred, the atmosphere quickly changing into a blue sky.

“Choose your server!” the next popup responded, as two gates appeared below. One was a white gate named Adeline. The other was a black gate named Marian, with a chain locked across it. Below the gates were the same red mist that threatened to send him back to reality.

 _So if I miss, I exit. Nice to know!_ Adrien thought as he dived into the Adeline gate to start. All of a sudden, the atmosphere changed back to white as his freefall decelerated to zero, with water suddenly rippling below him, slowly becoming still, as he saw his reflection adjust with his own image, numerous amounts of sliders and choices suddenly popping up on several different screens around him, all focused on different parts of his body.

_Wait… is this character creation!?_

“In order to preserve certain codes, you are unable to change your gender for character creation. Anything you can adjust will be shown upon the screens around you. To observe yourself, you may either look at your reflection below, or attempt to use the Relative 3D Perspective by crossing your arms and closing your eyes. Upon use, your senses will analyze the view from a point on invisible hemisphere formed around your upper body. Attempting to adjust your body will cause you to float around your point, allowing you to analyze your surroundings in all 360 degrees. Simply complete the action of opening your eyes, and you will phase back into First Person Perspective.”

Adrien reached his hand out toward the screen that would customize his face. After adjusting some of his features to differ slightly from his form in reality, he did the same with his hair, shortening its length slightly and loosening it casually to his liking. He left the rest of his body as it was.

Feeling satisfied, he decided that he would try the Relative 3D Perspective when he was actually in the real game and truly experience it then. At the top, he entered in the name Nightingale for his character. It wasn’t taken, and he felt satisfied with it as his alias.

 _No underscores or numbers this time!_ he thought happily, confirming his character creation.

 _...Wait, you can change your voice?_ Adrien started spouting out random thoughts and words as he adjusted the sliders, surprised at how it worked.

 _I think I’ll leave my voice as it is,_ he thought, as he pressed the “Default” button on the voice changer screen and confirmed creation.

“Character created! Welcome to _Solstice,_ created by Xen Gaming, working together with Gaia Tech in order to further this game’s development! Ready to start playing? Brace yourself for the dive!” The sudden informality change felt odd, but Adrien took it as a sign that the game was about to start. A step away from Gaia Tech, and toward Xen Gaming. Freefall resumed once more, as he angled himself to dive in headfirst, filled to the brim with excitement.

Just after a few seconds, his vision faded and everything went black.

He awoke within a dimly lit cave, only barely able to make out the wall. And a giant beast with glowing red eyes, who happened to be stomping, making loud grunts, and moving. In his direction. Okay, never mind, maybe he was able to see just fine for that moment. Instinctively, he ran in the other direction, away from the beast that towered over him.

 _So, it turns out that big giant monsters are actually really intimidating when they’re not behind a screen!_ Adrien fearfully thought, as he ran, the beast chasing after perking up to the sounds of loud, diminishing footsteps. With each of its advances, its stomping shook the caverns, Adrien able to feel the vibrations below his feet in the unsturdy cavern.

Rushing through the cave, adrenaline pumping faster, he had many actions to perform in order to avoid the various obstacles, needing to slide and jump along edges, avoiding stalagmites and stalactites alike. He would have taken the time to observe the detail that went into the cave, but he was a bit busy at that moment in time. On the other hand, he was learning a bit more about the game’s system as he ran.

For the purposes of the MMO, many physical actions and stats have been altered, allowing him to easily maneuver and dodge for the time being. They took much less effort and skill to execute compared to anything he could possibly do while moving around in real life. Jumps, rolls, and vaults proved to be no problem for the blonde who ran for the perception of his life.

On the other hand, each action required a bit of stamina, which was still draining at a steady rate from his constant running. Behind him, the beast continued lunging and destroying the cave in the process, having no trouble catching up to him. Then, Adrien did the most stupid thing that he could have possibly done.

 _OH MY GOD YOU IDIOT HOW DO YOU MANAGE TO DO THE MOST CLICHE THING EVER IN LITERALLY THE WORST CASE SCENARIO!?_ he screamed in his head, after tripping and falling to the ground, receiving a sample of the artificial pain system that was used. However, it wasn’t entirely his fault.

He had run out of stamina, the accented insignia that wrapped and twisted intricately around his HP gauge depleted, the color of silver turning to the color of faded red. He rolled off his front, onto his back, just in time to see the beast glow and swipe at his face.

\-----

Nightingale woke up with a start, out of the nightmare he had just experienced.

 _WHAT? WHAT!? HOW? They...what? Was that real?_ He took some time to examine himself, sweating in his bed...one that did not look like his. He got up and looked in the mirror, seeing the change in his hair, the loose cotton shirt that he adorned, and the baggy pants he had, accompanied by a pouch at his side. The GUI suddenly appeared around his vision as he stood still, adjusting as he looked around.

105 HP, 30 Mana, 50 Stamina and no gear nor gold to his name, he took a moment to wrap his brain around what just happened.

_They managed to simulate a nightmare. A virtual nightmare. In a game. And I felt all of its effects, and I woke up. How deep did this technology go?_

He walked downstairs to the first floor of his small, wooden house. So, he started out living alone? Typical… not that he minded THAT much of course. It was just for the sake of plot, right? Or whatever this MMO has so far? He quickly walked outside, eager to experience the beauty of the virtual world that was created. Adrien couldn’t help but marvel at how beautiful it looked. Sure, it was just his house a small forest village, but it was all painstakingly beautiful as a game. But of course, what else would he expect of a VRMMO?

He took a moment to watch as the trees swayed in the wind, able to actually feel the cool refreshing blast himself. The occasional leaves were flying and twirling, others dragging across the green grass. To the right, he saw an icon above what appeared to be a mailbox, signifying that he probably had something that he was supposed to read. He reached his hand toward, it, and another screen popped up. He started reading the letter off of the screen.

“Nightingale, your letter has been approved. You have been accepted to become an adventurer to seek for experience and desire in your wonderful journey into the vast world of Kyrion. We hope to see you rise up in your abilities and help conquer the many hostile beasts that plague the land! Upon reaching Brynhild, you will be instructed in the specialization of an art of your choosing. There will be more information on these upon your arrival. ”

Realizing that this was probably part of the main quest or storyline that was created for the game so far, Adrien’s standard gaming instincts kicked in. As Nightingale, he wandered around his little home, looking for potential gear or easter eggs that might exist already for whatever reason. If there was a secret, he’d attempt to find it.

Although he held no luck finding any actual secrets outside, nor near the few NPCs in the village, he found out that there were a couple of interactive plants in his yard that he could harvest.

-Received 3 [Geranium]- appeared near the bottom of his screen.

“Um… is this supposed to be useful?” Nightingale replied to no one in particular. He opened up the pouch at his side, finding out that it was how he accessed his inventory, along with his character info, and his skills, with whatever else that lied beyond a few flicks of the wrist.  The “Geranium” appeared in the first slot of his inventory. He poked his finger at it, enlarging it as a description appeared.

“[Geranium] - Tier 1 - A basic plant. Can be used for low level alchemy.”

Of course the random plant that you picked from your yard just happens to be a plant that can be used for alchemy. Of course it would.

After closing his inventory, Nightingale remembered that he still hadn’t tried out the Relative 3D Perspective yet. After taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and crossed his arms. A short moment later, his senses realigned, putting him in a phantom version of himself that looked at himself from a distance.

 _Wow, this is kind of like the view of playing a normal MMO_ , he thought, as he looked and rotated around his character, observing the full 360 view of his surroundings. He “opened his eyes,” his vision fading and restoring back to his First Person view. If he was to describe it, he’d say it was like looking at the screen while playing a normal MMO, while moving the camera around. Also while zooming in and out, or rather, moving forward and backward. And the screen encompassed his entire field of view, there was that too.

He began to walk toward the path that slightly faded outward with each step that he took toward it. It was probably a screen transition, which was understandable as far as intensive games go. His small home behind him began to fade, as small beginner monsters appeared in the distance.

“I should probably grab a weapon first…” suddenly appeared on a screen in front of him, as he stopped, unable to walk forward. As amusing as it would be to punch a goblin if he could actually progress, all five senses were being used, and his fist was sure to ache after punching enough of them, especially if he managed to land some blows on armor.

Nightingale walked back inside, noticing the knife on the table that he failed to pay attention to earlier. Feeling slightly embarrassed, he grabbed it, storing it in his inventory.

“[Knife] - LV 1 - +4 ATK, a small and simple blade.”

He opened up his character info with the slide of a finger after opening up his inventory,  and stuck it into his weapon slot by dragging it with his other free hand. Suddenly, a tiny sheath with the knife in it appeared at his left side. He walked back through to the dense part of the forest, ready to test out his skills with the small unsheathed blade in his hand. The goblins re-appeared up ahead, noticing his presence, and his path was no longer “blocked.” With a friendly laugh, he held out the blade and dashed toward his first PvE fight up ahead.

\-----

Jadewalker’s heart was beating very quickly. The unforgiving creature inside the cave failed to notice her, as her instinct was to immediately attempt to sneak by. Slowly but surely, she stepped deeper into the cave, careful to quickly yet quietly crawl and vault past the obstacles.

 _They did a really nice job on the graphics…_ she thought, admiring the detail that went into each part of the cave, both in aesthetics and practicality.

Jump, crawl.

Look back, continue foward.

Turn, don't fall.

She held some difficulty attempting to sneak in the open areas of the cave. Sounds echoed and magnified, requiring much more care to prevent a possible rampage from something she knew nothing about. Still aware that the beast was heading in her direction, she continued forward, having no other option if she wanted to survive. She reached what appeared to be a pit. Across it was a ledge, which went deeper into the cave. Unlike the other parts, there was a faint source of light somewhere.

_Ummm...what’s this doing here? And how do I get over there? ...How long do I have to run from this thing?_

Hearing the beast start to pick up its pace behind her as the vibrations increased in magnitude, she started to run and use the wall to keep her pace. It was in that moment that she learned about the feature of wall running. The green stamina bar drained very quickly, Jadewalker nearly collapsing with only a few points of stamina left on the other side of the pit.

She took a moment to rest, waiting for her stamina to recharge, hearing the beast charge ever closer. She crouched, peering over the ledge, catching a intimidating glimpse of the beast as it approached. Its fur was a smoky mixture of black and gray, practically emanating darkness off of it, its eyes attempting to peer into its victim’s soul.

 _No… it’s not going to… is it?_ Looking at the beast’s stance, realizing that it was about to leap for the ledge, Jadewalker got back up, her stamina half recharged, and started running again. Sure enough, a loud thump accompanied by a shockwave had been created behind her.

She didn’t look back as she ran, gauging her stamina while well aware of the looming threat that laid siege to the cavern structure behind her. She executed her jumps and dodges again when needed.

Stalagmites crumpled, shattering to block her path. Stalactites would drop from the ceiling, threatening to impale her with a direct blow if not attempt to inhibit her from proceeding. With each loose rock that passed as she vaulted, she would quickly use her force to turn it into a projectile. One of the rocks managed to strike one of the beast's eyes.

Her stamina nearly completely drained, Jadewalker saw what appeared to be an exit from the collapsing caverns. Feeling relieved, she pushed through the rest of her energy, the previously looming creature starting to fall behind. She bursted through the glowing yellow light of what she possibly thought was a sunrise.

A look of terror washed over her face, her heart beating faster, as she was greeted and farewelled by the sight of flames looming over what little she saw of a city, completely engulfed and enveloped. The fires frenzied in chaos, rising up higher and higher. Everything started to tint with a panic inducing red. She woke up with a start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed Chapter 1 of this VRMMO AU that I came up with! Just a note, I'm somewhat of an amateur writer, so I might not be as consistent with getting chapters out at...typical times? Something like that. Anyways, thanks for the read! Unless you're a weirdo who just decided to scroll to the very bottom to read these notes. Or maybe you're just glancing right over them? Oh well!


	2. Powerless

_Oh god!... Wh-What was that!?_ Even though it was a virtual reality, the sight of mass destruction could cause her to panic. Jadewalker awoke from her hammock in one of the trees, still hyperventilating from the brief sight. She took a look around, grasping the sight of the environment around her.

She lived in the treetops of a forest, one that held buildings at varying heights on many tall trees with roped wooden bridges that connected them together. Hers was small yet comfortable, one of many others.

The transition from the harsh destruction in the flames to a peaceful, tame wilderness had calmed her down. Her breath started to hush, as she took in the atmosphere of this home, along with its tranquility.

“[Knife] - LV 1 - +4 ATK, a small and simple blade.”

Jadewalker picked up the knife off of the nightstand that was positioned just near the end of her hammock. She opened her inventory and tapped it, bringing up the option to equip it. Its sheath appeared at her side, the inventory screen rotating to the character info. Upon its appearance, Jadewalker noticed her character a bit better.

She had been wearing a white silk shirt with dark blue leggings, with some relatively crude shoes. She gave a small laugh.

 _This actually doesn’t look too bad!_ she thought. _For some basic starter clothing, I honestly like it!_

She noted that it was only considered casual wear in her character info, as she had no actual armor. In other words, they were non-combat clothing that wouldn’t help her at all in the middle of fighting.

Jadewalker got up and interacted with the mail icon above a small pile of parchments. She read through it and learned what she needed quickly.

_So, this world is called Kyrion, and I’m supposed to go to Brynhild next so I can choose my class._

After closing out of the screen that held her “mail,” she continued experimenting with what she could do with _Solstice’s_ movement system as she started to look around the paths, seeing how they curved and where they led. She saw plenty of other living spaces designated around different trees at different heights, even seeing a few small gardens here and there.

Jadewalker could easily run and roll in the environment still, and she even attempted a few daring leaps onto the lower platforms to get around. She hadn’t missed any leaps yet. Occasionally, she’d spot a path that would ascend, and she’d climb her way upward, allowing her to resume her leaping. At one point, she even tried wall running again, but she forgot to keep track of her waning stamina bar.

She positioned her upper body. Her left arm was held in front, relaxed, but ready to take impact. Her right arm was held inward, her elbow pointed and her hand facing her left arm.

After falling off of the wall from her failed wallrun, she landed with a bend in her knees, very shortly shifting the remaining momentum forward into a roll. Her execution was easier to perform in the virtual world, but it was impressive nonetheless. Jadewalker panted for a little bit, letting out a small laugh a few seconds later after performing her latest acrobatic accident.

 _This is amazing!_ she thought, after taking a moment to rest and let her stamina recharge after all of her various “tests” of the movement system. Although many of the movements were her own, there was assistance in the form of her agility stat without a doubt.

Stamina was also an issue though, as she didn’t have the strength to do much when it ran out.

Jadewalker started to lie down and look up at the sky and the bridges, as the trees meshed in with the light blue sky, the light causing the leaves to shimmer. She started to close her eyes with a smile.

A few minutes later, she came back up on her feet and stretched out. Enough time had passed to fully recharge her stamina, allowing her to move around in more of a flurry.

She interacted with a few NPCs here and there, one of them eventually giving her the direction of Brynhild. A thought came to her mind.

_...Wait, am I supposed to have a map?_

She had no idea how to access a map. She didn’t have anything to scroll through in her inventory, there was no option in the menu, it wasn’t a video setting… she just didn’t have a map. She let out a huff.

“What kind of an RPG doesn’t have a map!?” she let out. This annoyed her, as she knew that it would be unpleasant to memorize the location of everything in the world, their locations, their NPCs, quest locations, anything imaginable.

She decided it was time to move on to Brynhild and get it over with. Jadewalker looked in the direction that the NPC pointed and saw a bridge whose width emphasized it as an entrance and an exit. It held some distance.

She briskly walked (and occasionally, frustratingly leaped) in order to make her way to the gate, still sour about the lack of a typical map that would usually take the shape of a square or a circle in the upper right corner of the screen.

The screen faded as she progressed down the bridge, a newer environment showing itself as the path she needed to take started to lead downward, closer to the forest ground. More sunlight was let through the trees, illuminating the environment while the background ambience turned into actual background music.

_Goblins… of course they’re goblins._

She spotted the creatures further down. In fact, if she were to jump…

_Let’s see how well this works…_

She brandished the knife in her hand as she took off from the steps. She held her feet steady on the tree as she slid down, the knife dragging down the trunk.

A short moment later, she propelled herself downward with a burst of energy from her legs, off of the tree, spinning her entire body. She held the knife in front of her, as she dove right into a goblin, her force managing to kill it almost instantly. The goblin cushioned Jadewalker’s fall before disappearing, fading into nothingness, causing her to briefly feel the impact of goblin skin instead of solid ground.

It took a few extra standard hits with the knife without her stunts to take care of the remainders in the group, but they were easy to defeat nonetheless.

After some of the goblins disappeared, they dropped small cloth bags. When Jadewalker interacted with them, they held some loot.

“[Tattered Cloth] - Tier 1 - Crude fabric. Can be used for different types of crafting.”

She continued walking forward at the base of the forest, proceeding to easily kill the goblins that would mindlessly rush at her. They would sluggishly attack, and Jadewalker would easily dodge. She would attack in a flurry, easily taking care of her current foes.

_Okay, so there are more than just basic slashes that deal random amounts of damage. It actually depends on how much effort you put into each strike, how you hit them, and where you hit them._

The cliffs and hills started to rise and extend at the sides, a more visible path being created in between. More rocks appeared to lie around further down the path. The hills themselves would be troublesome to attempt to ascend, so Jadewalker simply kept running forward.  A goblin began to rush toward her.

She slashed and stabbed it with her knife, easily defeating it. However, she didn’t notice the goblin that jumped off of the hill above, aiming straight for her.

She felt herself collapse under the sudden blow, bringing her 100 HP down to 36. A sudden rush of pain entered her side, but it was bearable. The near-fatal hit also sunk her stamina to a low. A debuff appeared below her mana gauge.

“Crippled - Temporarily drops stamina to limit movement - 3s”

_The same concepts apply to monster attacks too…_

She staggered backward with a slight grimace on her face. Once she was no longer crippled, she charged back in with her knife with a thrust and a slash, causing it to fade away. Her health recovered quickly while she sat down and rested.

A minute later, she was back up and moving, eager to reach her destination. Not too much farther, she encountered a slightly bigger, buffer goblin in comparison to the other four in its group. The nameplate above it read “Goblin Brute - LV 3” in comparison to those of “Goblin - LV 1.”

She approached with intensity, her knife ready to slice.

With a burst of energy, she charged and thrusted her knife right into some skin, accompanying with another slash, just like how she killed her last goblin.

The other goblins had finally noticed, starting to run in themselves, the brute not far behind.

Jadewalker took advantage of the fact that normal goblins were about half her height, and leaped off of one. It collapsed under her feet, taking some damage, as the rest of the goblins fell right inward.

She executed a forward roll. As soon as she was able to, she held her knife out mid-roll, dragging it down in an arch motion that cut right into the Goblin Brute in front of her, taking down some of its health.

It staggered for a moment, but quickly struck back. She narrowly dodged to the side, as a goblin happened to try to lunge her. It dove right into the attack of the brute.

She saw its HP gauge drop to a sliver of red, and struck quickly with her knife. After taking care of the normal goblins, she focused her flurry on the brute. It took more hits, but it faded easily enough.

A golden flash flooded her screen with the sounds of harps and bells humming for a moment as she sat down.

Her stats updated and improved, her HP maxed out, the”LV 1” near the name of “Jadewalker” turning to “LV 2.”

She took a moment to go into her character info and check her stats. On top of her strength, dexterity, and agility increasing, she had the option to put five additional points into her attributes of her choosing. First, she decided to analyze her stats.

“STR - Strength - Increases potential attack damage. Can allow use of heavier weapons and armor. Max Stamina increases.”

“DEX - Dexterity - Increases accuracy. Weapons are more easily handled. Skills are more easily executed.”

“INT - Intelligence - Increases magic capability. Spell casts are more powerful. Increases power of specific skills. Maximum MP increases.”

“RES - Resilience - Increases defense, magic defense, and maximum HP.”

“AGI - Agility - Increases speed. Allows for quicker attacks and improved dodging ability.”

After imagining how all of her stats would affect her, she decided to put a point into strength, another into dexterity, and the remaining three into agility.

“Jadewalker - LV 2 - Novice - 111 HP, 32 MP, 50 Stamina - STR 12, DEX 12, INT 10, RES 10, AGI 14”

_It’s going to take a LOT of strength to increase my stamina, isn’t it?…_

She got back up, looting the bags that dropped to receive 3 more tattered cloth and 62 gold.

Then, she proceeded onward to an area that opened up more, allowing more light to seep through as the forest became less dense. The hills at the side built up a little bit more, the paths becoming more clear. However, she didn’t expect to see what she saw next.

“I’ve checked again. I told you, there’s no shard here…” A black cloaked man spoke into a dark, cloudy crystal. Each syllable returned as a response caused the crystal to shimmer in a deathly haze.

“You know what is needed. I expect all of the shards to be found.”

The crystal shattered, leaving an annoyed man who decided to turn around. Half of his face was covered, but Jadewalker still saw some slight shock on it.

“It appears I have myself… a slight issue. Care to keep this to yourself?”

Options popped up on a screen in front of Jadewalker’s face.

The first option said “Okay.”

The next said “I’m afraid not.” It held a sword in front of its icon. She made her choice.

“Well, I’m afraid that you’ve made this more problematic.” The black cloak held his hands out, a blackened nameplate appearing above his head.

“??? LV ??”

A blue glimmer shot up from the entrances and exits to the area, appearing to barricade the area and prevent escape. The light that shimmered past the leaves started to dim slightly.

_Oh gee, that helps._

Jadewalker gripped her knife and charged, but her opponent knew how to dodge as well.

Slice, sidestepped. Slice, dodged.

Lunge, sidestepped. Stab, countered.

Her foe knocked the knife out of her hand with ease. She watched as it shattered and faded. An icon appeared in her debuffs.

“Disarmed - Cannot use weapons or weapon skills - 15s”

“I can fight you easily without using my weapons,” the man replied coldly.

She took several steps back. He took a few steps forward.

“This is the result of… an unlucky exchange. I promise that I’ll let you live, given the circumstance. On the other hand…”

Darkness hazed around him for a brief moment as he managed to move right to her side in a split second.

He landed a kick behind her knee, putting her to the ground. He punched her side, lowering her HP to a minimum.

2 HP out of 111, with no stamina left, she was heaving on the ground, feeling a pain that didn’t budge.

The man muttered something, but she couldn’t hear it. A black ball of energy appeared in his hand. She heard the hum of the energy grow louder and louder, until he placed his hand on her head, and she blacked out.

\-----

Nightingale woke up in another unfamiliar place.

_Where am I?_

He got up off of the bed, no longer feeling the aches in his body. He remembered choosing not to fight the red cloaked woman that he had encountered. She had rushed forward with some black energy in her palm. He couldn’t remember anything after that.

The room was comfy and orderly, with some small miscellaneous decorations here and there.

_Just like an inn._

He walked out of the neatly kept room and proceeded down the carpeted stairs. The rest of the inn was no less well kept. Couches and other various pieces of furniture fit perfectly to their locations, accentuating the comfortable atmosphere of the inn.

“I see that you’re awake now! A man with a purple hood came and dropped you off here. He even paid 25 days for the room! Who would have expected a stranger to spend 2500 gold for a passed out adventurer?”

Some more dialogue options appeared.

The first asked “How long have I been unconscious?”

The second asked “Do you know who he was?”

The third simply said “Thanks for the stay.”

Nightingale found out that he had been there for no longer than 2 days. The inn he had been taken to was named “Fen’s Inn.” There was no hint as to who the man could have been though, not that it would have helped at the time. It also turns out that the man had given him a few gifts. The innkeeper gave Nightingale a letter and a shimmering crystal.

It was a very light brown, but it wasn’t quite golden. It wasn’t quite the color of honey either. It was the color of what most would presume to be an ancient treasure map.

“He said to give these to you. He told me to tell you to read the letter later, and to give you this crystalline map,” the innkeeper responded. “You know how to use it, right? Just use it like you would any other item! Anyways, you’re an adventurer, right? Don’t forget to walk to Guild Plaza just north of the square! You can always check the map!”

The chat ended, allowing for Nightingale to check his inventory.

“[Letter?] - Left by the person who brought you to Brynhild. For some reason, you can’t seem to open it.”

At the bottom of his inventory, a single slot stood isolated from the rest, holding his crystal. He quickly poked at it.

“[Crystalline Map] - LV 1 - A map of the area.”

Sure enough, a small layout of the inn appeared on the screen that popped up as the map. The innkeeper appeared as a bed icon, while Nightingale’s head showed where he stood. It outlined the walls and the general furniture, areas where he could walk and areas where he could not, such as behind the counter.

He tapped the small gear icon in the lower left corner and adjusted the look of the map. He took a good look at the map key, quickly getting a feel for what represented what. He closed out the crystalline map after making it more transparent, increasing its contrast, and keeping its color at a more consistent, darkened silver.

All of a sudden, a jingle played itself on repeat as a new screen popped in front of Nightingale’s face.

“7:35 - Go Eat!”

He shut off the alarm he had set on his NerveGear’s settings before entering the game and brought up the escape menu. He logged out and exited the game.

\-----

Adrien took off his NerveGear, feeling perfectly fine. He walked downstairs to the colossal dining room and quickly finished his gourmet meal dinner, bringing a drink of water with him upstairs to his room. He took a few sips.

He walked into the bathroom to take a shower and clean up his hair, which had been cooped up in a helmet for an hour or two.

After he walked out, he started to text Nino before he planned on re-entering the game.

Adrien: _Hey Nino! How’s everything going?_

Nino: _Good. You lucky ass, how’s Solstice Online going?_

Adrien could already sense the smirk on his face while saying that. He couldn’t wait to tell him how it felt so far. He started his long text response.

Adrien: _It’s amazing haha! The graphics are unbelievable, and it really is like a virtual reality! You can move around more easily, and the combat is up to you! I’ve had a lot of fun just killing some normal goblins and experimenting. I’m pretty sure normal world physics somewhat apply there from what I’ve seen! I’m really curious to see how skill will work!_

Nino: _Man, you’re lucky being one of the thousand. I hope that I get to be one of the next four thousand for the rest of this beta!_

Adrien: _I wish you the best of luck over the next four days! :)_

Adrien: _I’m going to head back in. Text you later!_

Nino: _Have fun dude!_

Adrien chuckled as he put down his phone. He checked the status of his computer, noticing nothing out of the ordinary. Whatever the NerveGear couldn’t handle, it would rely on his PC as backup.

He stuck the NerveGear back on and accessed Solstice Online again. The previously blank landscape had turned into his first area, his starting village. With a smile, he punched his info back in. The landscape faded into strips that rocketed past him, as he resumed another freefall dive.

He dove back through the play confirmation, and back to the Adeline server. Afterward, his descent slowed.

In front of him appeared his character with closed eyes, with the same casual clothing. Even more interestingly, when he walked up to it, he could scout his inventory and his stats in its entirety.

“Nightingale - LV 2 - Novice - 111 HP, 32 MP, 51 Stamina - STR 14, DEX 13, INT 10, RES 10, AGI 11”

He still had the tattered cloth from goblin killing, along with his 81 gold. The letter still sat in his second slot, and the crystal still stood alone in the lower left corner.

“Do you want to log in with this character?”

Adrien confirmed “Yes,” on the screen, noticing his vision darken. Once his vision faded back in, he was once again in the inn.

He instinctively smiled and waved at the innkeeper before walking out, through the wooden door.

Nightingale gasped as he took in the sight of Brynhild. Various buildings stacked to different heights on the sides, with tall, chiseled marble walls serving to guard this city. The words flashed across a transparent strip on his HUD.

“Brynhild - Arcarinas Square”

He started to walk around a little bit more, taking in the sight of the place. The white tiled bricks formed an octagonal path around the square.

The square itself was empty, yet decorative with its red tiled bricks, along with some bluish gray tiling, including many more, creating an ornate insignia at its center. It had been sunk two feet in the ground, allowing for stairs and steps to be created for the octagonal space. In fact, the entire center of this area sunk downward, as if a large and wide crater had existed here before. The steps simply added to the beauty of the area.

All existing grass were on the outskirts near the walls. Stone benches and trees were neatly laid outside of the inner part of the square.

Small vendors and NPCs were here and there, some probably ready to ask for help and offer quests.

_Wait, the square is empty?_

As if on cue, a screen popped up in front of Nightingale. It would be impossible for anybody to miss.

“Syncing with server data. Actual multiplayer begins in…”

A load bar was placed below the statement, quickly filling up, as the time below it estimated 28 seconds.

“TIP: If another player is bugging you, simply shout “Block” along with the player’s name! If you shout “auto-block,” it will block all players within a two foot radius of you! Blocked players will appear as holograms. You will not be able to hear them, and they will not be able to interact with you!”

Nightingale continued to walk as the bar filled up, the grin on his face growing wider. He opened up his inventory and poked at his crystalline map once more. The bar filled behind his transparent map, which a few hundred miniature green dots had appeared on.

The casual chats and conversations all around started to fill his ears, the square filling up with all kinds of players imaginable.

He heard all sorts of amazed responses about the game as he walked north to the area on his map that told him it would lead to Guild Plaza.

_The real MMO starts here._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey! You're still here reading this! That must mean I'm doing something right! Thanks for reading! Critique is greatly appreciated by the way!


	3. Friends and Features

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I probably should have said this earlier on, but the content won't always be evenly split between Adrien / Marinette or Nightingale / Jadewalker. This chapter is going to be entirely focused on Jadewalker pretty much, so... enjoy!

Thankfully, she hadn’t quite exited her solo mode yet. Jadewalker was laughing screaming in pure happiness.

“OH MY GOD THEY ACTUALLY HAVE A MAP! IT WORKS AMAZINGLY AND IT’S EASILY ACCESSIBLE AND THANK GOD, IT’S A MAP!”

She had made the map only slightly transparent, additionally changing its color to a dark cerulean with some contrast.

After exiting her crystalline map, she skipped out the door with a grin on her face. She gazed at the size of Brynhild, her eyes widening at its size and height, how similar they were to the buildings in Paris.

_Oh wow! This place is big! It’s actually kind of pretty too!_

The layout of Summerhill Sector held many residential areas in the southern part, none which she could enter. The housing held many different arrays of comfortable colors to suit different styles. The streets were still tiled in white brick, contrasted against the dark blue gray stone.

Lampposts were not uncommon either, among more frequent grass, flowerbeds, and trees.

As she proceeded to look around, Jadewalker saw many ornate shops and a few restaurants, which were also marked on her map in the rest of the northern section.

The map told her that the southwest exit would lead to Arcarinas Square, whereas the northwest exit would lead to Guild Plaza.

A couple of screens appeared in front of her. The first one was relayed from the NerveGear itself.

“Papa hopes you’re having fun Marinette! Don’t stay up too late! We left your dinner on your desk!”

She smiled, swapping to the other screen, noting its loading bar.

_Over 7 minutes?..._

She dragged the screen aside, taking the time to look at the area a bit more. After feeling somewhat satisfied in exploring the outdoor areas in the sector, she entered the “Brynhild General Item Store.”

The store was neat and tidy. It had a blue rug with yellow accents and various designs in it. The dark wooden walls and wooden floors gave the store a comforting feel. There were shelves here and there, displaying a variety of items. However, she couldn’t interact with any of the items without much effort. As soon as she would pick one up, it became increasingly difficult to keep in her hand. It was as if the items were and the shelves were extremely powerful magnets, the items compelling her to return them to their rightful spot of display.

She walked over to the shopkeeper at the center counter, the one person who stood still as others walked around the area, moving items and performing what appeared to be maintenance.

“Hi! Welcome to Brynhild’s General Item Store! What would you like?” the shopkeeper asked when he approached.

Jadewalker selected the “Trade” option. The relatively large screen appeared in front of her face. On the left, her entire inventory was lined vertically. Slightly further to her left was her character info. Her character appeared, along with the items that had equipped, including her casual wear, nonexistent armor, and her knife. She still had a mere 62 gold.

On the right, the shop’s items were organized in a similar manner to her own inventory. The items were organized by type, neatly arranged for players to easily purchase. Farther to the right was the shopkeeper, and another character info screen. The shopkeeper’s avatar was in place of the character, with nothing else displayed.

The middle held two smaller arrays of inventory slots. The top array was where Jadewalker could put her items to sell. The bottom array was where she could put her items to buy. In the middle was a large “Confirm” button, with net gain or loss directly above it.

“[T1 HP Potion] - 75G - Recovers 75 HP.”

“[T1 MP Potion] - 75G - Recovers 30 MP.”

“[Warp Scroll] - 120G - Warps player back to tracked location.”

“[Return Scroll] - 120G - Warps player back to respawn point.”

“[Warp Tracker] - 450G - Sets a tracked location to warp back to.”

_The shop system is really neat and organized!_

Jadewalker left the shop without buying any items; she didn’t even have the amount of gold to buy any, not without selling any of her items at least.

She turned around and walked out of the store and back into Summerhill Sector, taking another moment to simply look around.

_Everything’s lined up so nicely…_

With a small grunt, Jadewalker inched her way up a lamppost and regained her balance when she reached the top. She used a burst of energy and jumped off, grabbing onto the edge of a roof. After pulling herself up, she made her way across the rooftops to a higher location to get a bird’s eye view of Summerhill. She couldn’t quite see over Brynhild’s walls, but the view of the large sector was breathtaking in the sunset.

She sat down for a minute. Occasional bits of smoke came from stacks above certain houses. The color of the roofs ranged from all darkened colors of the spectrum. There were dark blue roofs, dark green, yellow, and dark purple. They all meshed and blended together, creating a colorful yet tranquil view. She got back up with her stamina recharged, and jumped off, preparing to enter a roll.

The load timer had ended.

Jadewalker failed her roll, barreling into a girl with violet hair, green eyes, a red blouse and yellow leggings.

“Ahh! I’m so sorry about that!” Jadewalker apologized several times to the female player that sheepily waved and introduced herself. Other players walked around, quickly glancing at the accidental scene. Some smiled, some laughed, some snickered.

“It’s fine! It didn’t hurt for some reason!” She laughed for a moment. “I’m Eikoko, but I guess you can kind of see that above my head. Nice to meet you, Jadewalker!”

“Eikoko…” Jadewalker laughed for a moment. “That’s fun to say!” She sat down to recover the sliver of HP that she lost from the fall.

_So, it looks like I can’t accidentally hurt other players. That’s good!_

“What do you think of the game so far, Eikoko?”

“It’s probably the most awesome thing I’ve ever played!” she responded excitedly. “It feels so awesome just running around and jumping and rolling and dodging, SO much more fun than real life!”

“I know right!? I love trying to get around everywhere in this world! Well, I guess you kind of know that, since I jumped right into you... I’m so sorry about that!” Jadewalker smiled and rubbed her head.

“I told you, it’s fine! I don’t mind getting tackled if it means I get to meet nice people! You’re actually the first person I’ve talked to while playing! Wanna be friends?” Eikoko sat down next to Jadewalker and grinned.

“Sure! ...How do I access my friend list? Oh wait!” Jadewalker noticed that the loading bar had been replaced with another message.

“You have received a [Communications Crystal]! Open it up through your inventory! You can configure your friends list, inspect other players, trade with other players, configure or check a party, and check guild information!”

She opened up her inventory. Sure enough, it took its place in one of the isolated slots, just like her map. She gave it a tap. A light blue crystal appeared in her hand, giving her a choice of options. The guild option was grayed out, as she wasn’t in one. First, she tapped “Inspect Players.” A small message appeared at the top of her GUI.

“Look at a player until they turn gray to inspect them! Wait for them to confirm!”

As she looked at Eikoko for a few seconds, Eikoko started to shimmer gray. The aura disappeared when she grinned and made a motion with her finger. Her character info screen popped up, showing all of the equipment she was wearing, along with her stats.

She was also LV 2 Novice, with the same knife. The only differences stood in their casual wear and their stats. She had stuck her points into strength and intelligence.

Jadewalker closed out the screen, another one popping up shortly after.

“Eikoko would like to inspect you.”

She tapped “Accept” with her finger. Both of them smiled light-heartedly, sitting as other players walked, with the occasional few who ran.

“Nice to know that everyone starts with a knife!” Eikoko giggled.

Jadewalker accessed the crystal again and opened up her Friend List. It was paired with a Block List, both of which were empty. She tapped “Add.” A screen popped up in front of her to input a name. She put in Eikoko and confirmed. Eikoko made a motion with her finger, and another screen popped up in front of Jadewalker’s face. Eikoko’s nameplate above her head turned green.

“Successfully added Eikoko as a friend!”

Eikoko made some more motions with her finger, resulting in another screen.

“Would you like to join Eikoko’s Party?” Below the message was a list of party members and the party leader. Eikoko was the only one. A red flag appeared next to her name, signifying her as a party leader. Jadewalker pressed “Accept.” She noticed that the nameplate turned from green to a more noticeable aqua.

“Sweet! Also, mind if I call you Jade? It sounds more… normal I guess!”

“Sure! I wouldn’t mind that! Should we get going to Guild Plaza?” Jade stood back up.

“Yeah, let’s check out Arcarinas Square along the way!” Eikoko jumped back up, ready to start moving.

The two of them briskly walked out of Summerhill Sector and into Arcarinas Square.

“Oh wow, the square is really pretty!” Eikoko remarked.

“It really is! There are a lot of people too!” Jade noticed. Many players simply hung out and sat in the square, on the ground. Some also sat on stone benches that were scattered throughout the square. Others simply walked through. In its own way, it could be considered a player hub.

“After doing what we need to do in Guild Plaza, do you want to check out Sunrise Sector?” Jade asked.

“Yeah! I wonder what’ll be there?” Eikoko laughed and started to run to the north side of Arcarinas Square.

“Hey, wait up!” Jade giggled and began to keep her pace even with Eikoko’s after catching up. They ran through the large gate in the middle, to Guild Plaza.

Guild Plaza was large, to say the least. It expanded in all directions, its width spanning the widths of Summerhill and Arcarinas combined. It was even longer in its length. The paths were pure white brick. There were plenty of lampposts, and even more bushes. Large, simple buildings were structured at the sides, with various signs on them. They appeared to be warehouses for resources.

More buildings were scattered through Guild Plaza of different structures and sizes, standing out just enough to hold a different theme for each building.

In the middle of Guild Plaza stood a large building with an archway to walk under to continue north. The doors that led into it were large and frequent. It had a unique structure and multiple floors, holding a feel of significance.

“Uhh… so… what are the chances that we have to go into that giant building? The one that takes over like a third of Guild Plaza?” Eikoko asked.

“Pretty high…” Jade replied, as the screen popped up in front of her face.

“Head over to Advancement Hall in order to confirm your letter and receive new gear!”

Other players swarmed from the other two gates, on their way to the large building. The many doors leading inside were simply kept open as the players maneuvered their way inward.

“Well, now’s as good of a time as any to try to enter…” Eikoko hopped into the line, as Jade walked around.

_It has balconies!_

Jade quickly made her way back to Eikoko and whispered into her ear.

“Follow me to the balconies. It’s probably quicker.”

Eikoko nodded and walked over with Jade under the arch, and popped out on the back, noticing the balconies that lined the way up. There was a window about 10 feet up with a small ledge. The nearest balcony was just over 6 feet above the window.

“Do you think you can make your way up there?” Jade asked Eikoko. She received a small nod as a response.

Jade went first with a running start. She managed to get two steps on the wall to propel herself upward, allowing her to grab the ledge of a window. She put a burst of strength into her arms, allowing her to become almost level with the window. She coiled her knees and sprung upward from the window ledge, rotating to the right so she wouldn’t hit the upper edge. Finally, she grabbed the ledge of the balcony, and then the railing, making her way over.

Jade collapsed on the floor shortly after, the stunt having used all of her stamina.

“I-I did it!” she weakly shouted down to Eikoko after heading back to the edge.

“Uhh- uhhmm… can you hang off of the railing and ready an arm? I don’t think I’ll be able to make it up there on my own, now that I think about it,” Eikoko nervously shouted back.

“Give me a minute to recover my stamina,” Jade replied as she panted and remained on the floor. As soon as a good amount of her stamina came back, she hung off the railing. “Ready! Good luck!”

Eikoko made her way up the building, executing the same maneuvers to get up. However, she hit her shoulder on the upper edge of the window.

“CRAP CRAP CRAP!”

Jade reacted quickly and snatched her arm with one hand, holding onto the railing with the other.

“PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE MAKE THIS AND PULL ME BACK UP BECAUSE I CAN FEEL MYSELF GETTING WEAKER ALREADY!” Jade shouted.

Eikoko quickly leaped off of Jade and up the side of the wall, kicking off and grabbing onto the railing past Jade. She grabbed Jade’s arm and pulled her up. They both swung their legs over the railing to safety and collapsed together on the ground, panting for breath.

“I’m...never...doing that...again…” Jade muttered out.

“Me...neither…” Eikoko responded tiredly.

They rested on the ground, laughing as they waited for their stamina to recharge. A minute passed as the fatigue left their bodies, allowing them to get up on their feet. They walked through the door.

“And what do you suppose you’re doing?” A man in armor quickly confronted them as they entered. Before the girls could utter another word, he continued. “Quite the stunt you pulled, entering through the balcony. Could have been hurt. Here. Keep these.”

-Received 5 [T1 HP Potions]- appeared at the bottoms of both of their screens.

The man walked back up a floor. All of a sudden, the rest of the players appeared, carrying out their chats and collecting their gear.

“It looks like certain cutscenes cause it so only respective players and parties can interact so it doesn’t disrupt anyone else’s gameplay,” Jade observed.

“It’s cool knowing that they add stuff like this to the game! Sure it’s just 5 potions, but it’s the small things like this that really make it fun!” Eikoko grinned.

“Well, it definitely makes it a lot more fun to explore and try other things!” Jade responded. “Okay, we should probably go talk to one of the NPCs behind the counter and get our gear…”

Eikoko nodded. The two of them quickly interacted with a nearby NPC, causing the rest of the players to phase out of sight.

“Hello, how may I help you?” the NPC asked.

Jade and Eikoko went to their options. In the case of a party, they could give two different responses and receive a variety of answers, depending on the situation.

“Hi, my name is Jadewalker," Jade responded.

“Oh! I’m here to become an actual adventurer!” Eikoko chose.

The NPC responded respectively. “Ah, okay! I remember your letter! Here is your gear!” She handed Jade some items, while another screen simultaneously popped up.

“You can now see additional stats on all items! This includes weight, item equip location, and item type!”

“[Log Crystal] - LV 1 - 0.0 W - Interaction - Keeps track of quests and objectives.”

“[Novice Chestplate] - LV 1 - 7.0 W - Body - Armor - +4 DEF, A new adventure awaits.”

“[Novice Leggings] - LV 1 - 5.0 W - Legs - Armor - +2 DEF, +2 M.DEF, A new adventure awaits.”

“[Novice Boots] - LV 1 - 3.0 W - Feet - Armor - +3 M.DEF, A new adventure awaits.”

“What weapon would you prefer?” A selection screen popped up, allowing Jade to see each of their respective stats and how they would feel.

“[Novice Sword] - LV 1 - 10.0 W - 1/2H - Sword - +9 ATK, A simple sword.”

“[Novice Dagger] - LV 1 - 2.0 W - 1H - Dagger - +6 ATK, A simple dagger.”

“[Novice Staff] - LV 1 - 12.0 W - 2H - Staff - +4 ATK, +5 MAG, A simple staff.”

“[Novice Bow] - LV 1 - 7.0 W - 2H - Bow - +6 ATK, A simple bow.”

“[Novice Axe] - LV 1 - 22.0 W - 2H - Axe - +15 ATK, A simple axe.”

Jade looked at her options, and decided to continue with daggers. Eikoko went through her options and grabbed a staff.

“I’m sure, as you’ve seen, that there’s reason to why we live behind walls. Not everyone is capable of fighting the monsters that plague the lands. We need all of the people we can get in order to restore peace to Kyrion and reclaim the lands,” the NPC continued. “As a proper adventurer, people around Kyrion will be willing to entrust you with tasks. They’ll have various awards and help advance you as an adventurer. You may come back here for specialization once you’re more experienced. I’d also recommend that you talk to the Teleporter in Arcarinas Square. If you’re looking to test your skill, I’d recommend talking to Chandler in Sunrise Sector. Good luck!”

The cutscene ended, and the rest of the players rematerialized once more. Jade opened her inventory and selected the new, dark violet crystal that appeared in another isolated slot.

\-----

Main Objectives:

  [LV 1] - Class Specialization

     > Return to Advancement Hall after becoming LV 15.

  [LV 1] - (Optional) The Art of Teleportation Scrolls

     > Talk to the Teleporter in Arcarinas Square.

  [LV 1] - (Optional) The Art of PvP

     > Talk to Chandler in Sunrise Sector.

Sidequests:

  N/A

\-----

“Shall we head back to Arcarinas then, Jade?” Eikoko asked.

“Yeah! I think this has something to do with those scrolls I saw in the item shop!” Jade replied.

The two walked back out onto the balcony and leaped. They took the HP loss and started to head back to Arcarinas Square. Sure enough, the teleporter was there in one of the corners of Arcarinas, standing near a large, aquamarine crystal. Other players nearby were suddenly phasing out of view, presumably entering a cutscene. The two walked close, everybody else disappearing.

“Hello there! I’m guessing you’re new adventurers! Do you know how teleportation works?”

Jade and Eikoko chose their options. “No, not really.”

“Okay! Here, have these!”

Both players received 2 Warp Trackers, 4 Warp Scrolls, and 3 Return Scrolls.

“Using this giant crystal, you can teleport to other crystals to reach other cities that you’ve reached. It relies on the energy signature that it imprints on you! If you touch a new Teleportation Crystal, you’ll be able to teleport to it at any time from other Teleportation Crystals by using its energy!” The teleporter started to explain about the scrolls and the tracker.

“Now, as adventurers, you’ll be able to get these scrolls and trackers! First, try interacting with the crystal and setting your respawn location! Don’t worry, you’ll know what to do when you touch it!”

They proceeded to touch the crystal. A screen popped up giving two options. One was to teleport, the other was to “Set Respawn Point.” Jade tried tapping teleport, but there were no options given. She pressed “Back” and set her respawn point.

“Good! Now, whenever you use a return scroll, you’ll end up back at your respawn point! The thing about the scrolls though, is that they require you to be at 100% mana capacity to work. They’re really draining! Say you go out to the trisects outside of Brynhild and end up walking to Mystra Hill, and you want to get back. If you use a return scroll, it’ll burn away and activate a special spell that brings you back to this crystal! The same thing should happen if you get knocked unconscious while in battle! You should be brought back to a crystal! But for some reason, whenever it’s done while someone’s unconscious, they forget some of the things that they’ve done... Nobody’s quite sure why!”

A screen appeared after the teleporter mentioned the last few facts.

“When you’re knocked out, you end up losing 10% of the EXP that you need to level up. Your EXP loss will never force you to degrade a level!”

“Okay, now using a tracker somewhere in the square!”

Jade and Eikoko walked to different parts of the square and activated their trackers. Jade saw the light blue ring spin around the location for a brief moment. Her mana was suddenly drained. A message appeared on her GUI.

“Location Bound: 1. Arcarinas Square”

The two girls walked back to the teleporter.

“Good! The tracker uses all of your mana as well, creating a special energy imprint of the location! The more experienced you are, the more of these special imprints you can have! Now, try using a warp scroll! Let me replenish your mana for you first!”

The teleporter brought their mana back to full. Jade accessed a warp scroll, and a screen was brought up.

\-----

“Where do you want to warp to?”

    [Location 1] - Arcarinas Square

    -LOCKED-

    -LOCKED-

    -LOCKED-

    -LOCKED-

   Do not use a scroll.

\-----

Jade selected the only choice she had to warp. The same ring of energy appeared from when she used the tracker. All of a sudden, her vision warped and changed. She appeared back in the same orientation and spot where she used her tracker, with her mana completely drained once more. She walked back to the teleporter.

“Good! That’s all for scrolls and trackers. Keep in mind, at the moment, you can only keep one special imprint! If you use another tracker, you’ll be forced to overwrite an old imprint!”

The rest of the players appeared back into view, as Jade and Eikoko finished their tutorial on teleportation.

“Okay, shall we check out Sunrise Sector now?” Jade asked.

“That we shall,” Eikoko replied with a grin.

The two new adventurers walked away from the Teleporter and through the west gate to Sunrise Sector.

In terms of style, Sunrise Sector was pretty similar to Summerhill Sector. However, there were fewer residential areas down south. Jade opened up her map. There was a Storage Bank in the southwest corner of Sunrise, and a PvP Arena in the northern section. There was also an entrance to “Brynhild Culverts” just east of the Arena.

Jade noticed the yellow exclamation points above a few different NPCs in different locations. A light blue question mark was held above Chandler, who was located in the dictated PvP Arena.

Eikoko nodded as she started to run ahead to the arena. Jade followed behind, passing a multitude of players. They entered the arena and interacted with Chandler.

All of a sudden, Jade couldn’t see Eikoko.

“Eikoko? Where did you go?”

“So, you came here because you want to try to test your skill in PvP, huh?...” Chandler asked.

“Uhhhh… well-”

Chandler drew his blade and swung at Jade. She immediately dodged backward, watching as he held out his sword at the side of his body. A red, shimmering crystal was gravitating in his other hand.

“Land a single blow on my body, and I’ll be happy to oblige.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It still amazes me that people actually read this fic! It's just something that I write for fun, yet there you are, reading it, and (hopefully) enjoying! (If you're not enjoying this, WHY ARE YOU READING THIS!? Are you an Anonymous Liger gauging my skills relentlessly behind a monitor!? No wait, that's my friend, who's helping me correct my occasional screw ups and also says that the fic is interesting. Never mind!)


	4. Fight to Fight

Jade charged in at the man who held out a single handed sword as his weapon of choice, holding her dagger out.

“Chandler - LV ??”

Chandler was easily able to dodge and deflect the strikes that she attempted to land. He quickly jabbed the sword at Jade, landing a small hit for 19 damage.

_ Looks like Xen Gaming really knows how to develop an impeccable AI… _

Jade rolled under a horizontal slash with a grimace, and attempted to move in for a stab. However, he immediately jabbed his blade at an angle to the ground, blocking the strike with ease.

She attempted to slice at his arm. He blocked again, simply by rotating his blade.

_ He’s going to be difficult to defeat… _

Jade gripped the dagger tighter and charged once more, this time performing a quick, weak flurry of attacks and maneuvers to find any possible chunks in the AI and allow her to land a blow.

She feigned, struck, feigned, and feigned. 

He stumbled, barely blocked, moved back, feigned a block. Even though it was still an AI, the taunt message still sparked some annoyance.

“Are you going to hit me yet?” Chandler asked after blocking.

_ Oh, just you wait, you, you… you… right, you’re an AI, right. Calm down, Marinette. Time your strikes. Keep noting his reactions. Pay attention to your stamina. Make sure that you won’t suddenly be crippled again. _

She struck, stabbed, ducked, stabbed, feigned, sliced, stabbed again.

He blocked, moved back, blocked, anticipated, blocked, blocked again.

She stepped back to regain her positioning and her thoughts. Chandler merely walked forward, allowing her to do so.

_ This world has its own physics. Weapons aren’t the only weapons. I spin dived into a goblin for god's sake! Not to mention when I was throwing rocks at that… thing, before I woke up! Chandler’s using his fists instead of his sword. Who says I can’t use my hands and feet? _

Chandler picked up his pace, and dove in for a sword jab. Jade dodged it easily, but he quickly turned it into a sideways slash. She ducked and attempted to sweep him onto the floor with a kick, but he moved out of the way quickly.

She stayed quick on her feet and rushed in with her dagger. Chandler sidestepped to avoid the blade, but Jade quickly imitated his technique from earlier and followed with a swinging slash to the side.

_ He’s starting to stumble! _

Jade swiped and sliced, forcing him to block more and more. Finally, she dragged her dagger in an arc at his leg. 

His mistake was blocking instead of dodging. She took the momentum from her arc motion and charged it into her foot. It quickly spun around, her heel striking Chandler’s head for 1 damage.

_...1 damage for a kick? I know it’s not exactly a blade or a game weapon or anything, but… only 1 damage? _

She felt the atmosphere change.

_ A cutscene? _

“I’m impressed that you managed to hit me,” Chandler remarked. “PvP takes skill, wits, action. That’s why the Vorpal Gladiators regulate its occurrences. It would be a dishonor to let a new, unskilled adventurer to tarnish its meaning and initiate pitiful fights! Too many of the weak and naive have attempted and sullied this art!”

He sheathed his sword. “You have clearly proven yourself so far. You have earned the Confrontation Crystal. It will allow you to initiate a PvP match with whoever you deem worthy to cross skills with.”

Chandler walked forward to Jade. The screen popped up, and Jade received her reward.

“[Confrontation Crystal] - LV 1 - Interactive Crystal - Allows for the creation of a PvP match with another player.”

“However, if you wish, you may continue fighting me. I will not use my sword at first. But, I will not refrain from striking, and I will raise the limit on my abilities. I will not hesitate to start using it if the circumstances deem it necessary. If you manage to best me in this match, I will reward you.”

_ There’s no harm in trying… right?... Okay, maybe there is, but… _

She quickly tapped “Accept” and prepared for a challenge.

Jade readied her dagger, while Chandler readied his fists. She realized her colossal mistake as the nameplate had reformed above his head with a sickly purple glow and a skull next to it, representing him as a boss.

“Chandler the Mercenary - LV 95”

He quickly dashed forward. Jade swiped multiple times with her dagger, but he easily evaded each strike. She knew that even if she put every ounce of her energy and effort into this fight, she still wouldn’t win. The gap in between them would have to be filled with experience.

Chandler landed multiple punches into Jade, causing her to stagger back. Jade grimaced, having lost another 44 HP to the blows. She felt bursts of pain where the punches landed.

_ OW THAT HURT. I’M BELOW HALF HEALTH ALREADY. YUP, HE WAS HOLDING BACK, HE WAS MOST DEFINITELY HOLDING BACK! _

She held her dagger out and retaliated with some more quick swipes and slashes. He evaded and countered with a double jab.

Jade held her dagger out and deflected the first punch with it, knocking down 4 measly HP. She evaded the second and dove in, landing half of her flurry of kicks and swipes. Chandler took a step back, his HP now reduced by 5.

_ MY ATTACKS ARE HITTING FOR 1 DAMAGE EACH. _

It had barely made a dent in the extremities of his gigantic pool of HP, on top of his defense that nullified most of Jade’s attacks.

She ducked under a hooked punch, and fell backwards trying to narrowly avoid the spin hook kick that followed. Then, she rolled to the side and stood back up. A few more punches came, bringing her HP down to 27 HP. She could feel herself weaken. Chandler landed one more kick, bringing her down to 1 HP.

Jade collapsed to the ground, vision dizzy, unable to fight further with much success. The battle ended there.

_ It’s a good thing I’m not receiving 100% of the pain that I’m supposed to be feeling right now... _

“You’ve tried your best. If you wish to fight me again, request a match in the future. I hope to see you climb in your status as a PvPer.”

Chandler resumed walking about in the arena. After a moment, the rest of the players there materialized, Eikoko included.

“Jade! Man, he whooped my- OH MY GOD, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU!?”

“I won. And then I lost. Horribly,” Jade replied as she remained collapsed on the ground in a sickly red haze, attempting to recover her lost HP. There was the occasional player who rematerialized in the same state, players who clearly tried fighting Chandler after obtaining their crystals.

“You’re, like, glowing red! How bad was it!?” Eikoko asked.

“You fought Chandler when I disappeared, right?” Jade asked in return.

“Yeah, he kicked my ass. I’m pretty sure that it’s kind of hard to go up against a greatsword with a staff,” Eikoko replied. Her eyes widened when she saw Jade hold out the glowing red crystal that she earned from the fight.

“He was holding back on you. He goes easy on you until you land a hit and earn your crystal. If you fight him again, it’s a new battle that none of us can win yet. He’s level 95! He beat me after putting away his greatsword, only using his fists!” Jade started to sit up, her health having recovered halfway.

“Crap, he’s level 95!? No wonder why he was so hard to fight!!”

“He was still probably holding back. Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll be able to beat him sooner or later! It’ll just take… a long time.”

There was a brief pause where the two simply rested. 

“...So, you wanna go to the Culverts?” Eikoko began standing up again.

“Sure, let’s give it a look. A sewer sounds like a place that’s good to start off for new players, right?”

Jade opened up her map and double checked its location. It was located as a single entrance in between the ones for Arcarinas Square and Guild Plaza.

The two walked to the culverts to give it a look. Eikoko ran ahead and bypassed the NPC, while Jade had to run and catch up to her.

The water slowly streamed as the stairs disappeared into the stone culverts. They had little walking space that wasn’t in liquid, but they were pretty tall and wide, considering their function. Eikoko and Jade ran in.

\-----

Nightingale left Advancement Hall with his new gear, and a new sword.

_ Man, there were so many people trying to get into that building! It’s a good thing there were so many doors, or else it would’ve taken half an hour! _

As fun as it would be to test out his skills in PvP, he didn’t feel confident enough in his abilities with a sword, or his stats, in order to successfully start it. He proceeded back to Arcarinas Square in order to talk to the teleporter. He completed the quest and walked to Sunrise Sector to see if there were any NPCs with quests, other than Chandler. 

Sure enough, there were a few. Only three NPCs at the time had quests. He walked to the closest person first. As usual, everyone else playing disappeared when he started talking to the NPC that stood nearby a house.

“I… I was only walking outside the walls for a moment. One of the big goblins tried to attack me, but I ran back to the gates. I think I dropped one of my bags though… Can you help me retrieve it please?”

“[LV 2] - Dropped Something

> Kill Goblin Brutes to retrieve [Lola’s Bag].”

Nightingale accepted the quest and decided to accept the others. For another quest, he was supposed to kill 20 normal goblins. For the last quest he had available, he was supposed to hand in 12 tattered cloth.

_ Sounds like there’s a lot of goblins near Brynhild… _

He walked to Summerhill Sector to see if there were any more quests that he could take on, but there were none that he could spot on his map.

He walked back to Arcarinas Square and started to head south, to the gate that would lead into Brynhild Trisects.

Halfway through the gates, while the NerveGear was changing what would have been rendered for him, he felt something grab onto him. He quickly recoiled and turned around, to find a man in a purple cloak. More specifically, a black, purple, and indigo cloak. However, he couldn’t make out his face, nor any noticable features.

“I almost forgot something…”

The man quickly slipped Adrien a yellow crystal, and a book.

“Use the book later. It’ll help. You’ll figure it out.”

Before Nightingale knew it, the man quickly dashed to his behind. Nightingale turned behind him, only to find no one but the guards facing away from him, at their posts. The air sparkled with what could only be described as stardust.

“[Ability Crystal] - LV 1 - Interactive Crystal - Allows players to easily check and access their skills and abilities.”

“[Invocation LV 1] - LV 3 - Skill Book - All Classes - Self - 30 MP - 200s cooldown - Increases all main attributes by 2 points for 2 minutes. ”

_ Was that the man who brought me to the inn? ...It looks like I can’t exactly use this book yet, but, it’s a skill! I can finally do something other than use a standard weapon! Well, when I reach level 3 anyways. _

After walking through the remaining gates, Nightingale appeared outside of the grand city of Brynhild. The trisects were VERY large. Cliffs and trees seemed to act as natural borders. The path led below a plateau that separated the lower section from the upper, which formed a T section. Players could travel left or right from that point. 

Hundreds and hundreds of players were scattered around the ginormous area, killing goblins and odd looking colored creatures that reminded Nightingale of Like-Likes from Legend of Zelda, only these things were more… bubbly. And they were light green.

Nightingale was capable of easily cutting through the goblins that he had encountered with his sword. Up close, the light green creatures were apparently named “Green Jellies.” They were a little bit more difficult to get used to. His sword had trouble cleanly killing the jellies, mainly because they were… jelly like. He killed off a few more goblins and brutes, gaining some more cloth along the way.

He began roaming across the top plateau a bit more, bypassing the rest of the players yelling and attacking, concentrated on taking out their targets for the experience.

The plateau dipped down slightly. Nightingale’s eyes widened when he noticed one player crawling backward to avoid 3 goblin brutes, 2 normal goblins and a jelly that were aggroed on him.

_ Holy crap, that’s a lot of monsters on one person… What did he do? Just run and hit them all? _

Nobody else had gone far enough to notice. He ran forward and slashed powerfully and quickly. 

He put enough power into his strikes to the point where he was actually losing stamina from his motions. He killed the first brute and endured a hit from the second. With a grimace, he ran forward and slid, bringing his sword through the remaining brutes. He leaped up from the slide after making his marks, dodging a swing from the goblin. After leaping onto its head, he held out his sword and thrusted down below him.

_ Two down, four to go… just great. _

All of a sudden, the green jelly tackled into him, sending him to the ground. The goblins and brutes landed several unlucky hits, intercepting each of his recovery attempts to regain his positioning. He staggered back quickly.

_ 39 HP left, not good… _

Ignoring the bits of lingering pain, Nightingale jabbed his hilt into the goblin that leaped at him. It bounced off of him and into the jelly that decided it would be a great time to attack him again. Nightingale brought his sword overhead and struck downward, leaving two goblin brutes to vanquish. He quickly glanced at his stamina, feeling satisfied enough with the number he saw.

A familiar golden aura flashed on his screen, as his HP was restored. He adjusted his attributes accordingly, on top of his intelligence and resilience boost.

“Nightingale - LV 3 - Novice - 126 HP, 33 MP, 52 Stamina - STR 18, DEX 14, INT 11, RES 11, AGI 11”

The silver-haired player got up off of the ground.

“Thanks! And, uh, congrats on leveling up!” He quickly ran off as Nightingale returned a smile and picked up the loot off of the ground.

-Received [112 Gold]-

-Received [2 Tattered Cloth]-

-Received [Lola’s Bag]-

“Quest objective completed! New objective: Return to Lola with her bag!”

Noticing the quest reward for some more gold, experience, and leather gloves, he decided to return to Brynhild a little bit earlier than planned. But first, he used the book. The ability crystal shone with a golden tint. All of a sudden, he was on auto-pilot.

His arms reached up to the sky, as if something was floating above his two hands. Aqua streams of light rose from his body and formed into a sphere that shone outward from the area above his hands. The 30 MP was drained from him.

“Invocation - +2 STR, +2 DEX, +2 INT, +2 RES, +2 AGI - 119s”

The book turned into dust. The method for activating Invocation was placed into Nightingale’s mind. The information on the skill and its method were stored in the crystal. He just knew how to do it afterward; it was as simple as knowing how to run.

He made his way back toward the gate that separated Brynhild from its trisects, killing some extra goblins and grabbing some more tattered cloth with ease along the way. Invocation made a difference, even if he didn’t exactly feel it.

The scenery changed from nature to city quickly as Nightingale entered back through the fortified series of gates that separated Brynhild from the outside world. He quickly made his way through Arcarinas and back to Sunrise Sector. He briskly walked over to Lola and initiated another cutscene.

“Oh my gosh, you found my bag!! Thank you so much! Here, I have a lot of these. I think it’ll be better if you use them!”

“[LV 2] - Dropped Something - COMPLETED!”

-Received [Leather Gloves]-

-Received [250 Gold]-

-Gained 60 XP!-

Nightingale quickly opened up his inventory and equipped the gloves. They weighed very little, and they gave him +1 ATK and +1 DEF.

_...I can’t say that I’m not curious about the arena… I guess I’ll go check it out before heading back to the trisects. _

Upon entry into the arena, Nightingale was met with a lunge. He quickly dodged it and began retaliating with slashes.

Chandler wielded his sword expertly, blocking all of Nightingale’s attacks.

_ How can this guy practically wield that thing like it’s a lightweight sabre!? Wait… this is practically like a one on one sparring match! _

Fortunately, by the time Nightingale entered the arena in Summerhill Sector, his MP had recovered, and enough time had passed.

Nightingale jumped back and pushed his hands upward, his palm heels facing each other. Sure enough, the aquamarine light appeared, and he held his stat boost.

He took his usual fencing stance. He quickly jabbed his blade forward a couple of times, but they were blocked each time. Chandler sent his blade forward as well. Nightingale attempted to retaliate with a parry, but got hit instead.

_ What did you expect, parrying a greatsword!? It’s not going to budge with THAT kind of a motion! _

15 HP down, Nightingale attempted to be lighter on his feet. He lunged forward, performing a horizontal slash. Chandler easily raised his greatsword and blocked it.

He slashed and slashed and slashed, only to be met with block after dodge after block. Unfortunately, he ended up distracted for a second.

_ Crap! _

The icon in his buff section had shattered, indicating that Invocation’s effects were now for naught. Its cooldown timer showed up in the debuffs. He had another 80 seconds until he would be able to use it again.

The stat loss felt as different as the initial stat gain from using Invocation; he didn’t feel much different. However, he noticed his HP and MP dip slightly, and the attack that Chandler landed next during the distraction had cost him 20 HP instead of 15.

Chandler began attacking a little bit more frequently, forcing Nightingale to dodge and redirect more of his attacks. He was focused this time, so he was able to prevent getting hit again for the time being. He narrowly avoided one of the downward slices by rolling out of the way, and dodged another slice as he got back up on his feet.

After getting back up, Nightingale ran forward for a jab. Chandler held the out his greatsword vertically to block. Using this to his advantage, Nightingale jumped and kicked back off the greatsword, regaining his positioning and raising his hands. The light burst through him once more, as his stats were increased once more.

_ You can only do so much with standard fencing. _

Nightingale rushed back in with his mind set on only using a few of his fencing techniques: those that were practical to the world he fought in.

There was little time between his jabs and slices. After a flurry of jabs, he pulled into an upward diagonal slash at the hilt of the greatsword. He quickly spun and followed with a horizontal slash at the same area.

_ He can’t block if I disarm his weapon! _

Jab after stab, slash after slice, Nightingale eventually managed to send the greatsword behind him. He finished with a forward thrust of his blade into Chandler’s arm.

Shortly after, the speech was spoken, and the crystal was given.

“[Confrontation Crystal] - LV 1 - Interactive Crystal - Allows for the creation of a PvP match with another player.”

Feeling unwilling and unconfident to continue the fight with his opponent, Nightingale declined the offer to continue fighting. He held out his crystal for a moment, observing its red gleen before putting it back into his pouch.

When he made it back to Brynhild Trisects, it appeared that more people crowded the upper areas. With a shrug, he dashed down the path, diving to the middle of the T section.

After another use of Invocation, he slashed through some more jellies and goblins with ease. There weren’t as many players in the area, giving him some more room to hunt. He finished up the required goblin kill count, and obtained the rest of the tattered cloth that he needed. One of the monsters even dropped a Weak MP Potion for him, which he stored in his bag.

He was just about to turn back to the gates of Brynhild, when he noticed a slight glimmer appear in the corner of his vision. A monster had spawned with orange lettering and a golden nameplate in a slightly more out of the way area.

“[Rare] Goblin Brute - LV 7”

_ That thing HAS to have something special. _

He quickly used Invocation once more as he was running, and he pulled out his sword, rushing toward it.

_ If I die… at least 10% EXP doesn’t mean anything at this level, right? _

He readied a thrust into the special, glimmering monster that stood in front.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SORRY GUYS  
> IT'S BEEN 3 WEEKS  
> I'VE BEEN DOING STUFF AND I DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO CONTINUE WITH MY IDEAS OR THE TIME I HAD  
> Oh well, it's out now! I hope the wait wasn't too bad for the few of you that actually keep track of this!


End file.
